Original Factorio Intro (song) Now in "HD"!

[ruhroh]

Decided to take a crack at the old intro for fun. Everything started from scratch / done by ear. Tried to keep it close, but wasn't as easy with this one...

This one was a little more difficult...had to make a few more custom instruments as I did not have any close presets in my library for a few of the sounds. (Subby Floor tom, muted punchy downlifter etc.. etc...)

The fx sweep would have been a toughy, but I've made that sorta sweep before...so it wasn't too bad. (It uses a snare drum + phasers + melodic low-pass filter and some other stuff)

Drumkit (mainly hi-hats) in the original was super garbled and weren't really decipherable...So I made up my own groove. (similar but different) And getting the wooden block sound to line up with the right compression was a pita.

Made up some stuff in the middle as well, original sounds like it had the melody playing in the mid-section, but it was lost and garbled....so I improvised some alternate melody for fun.

Not mastered to the same Volume as Haluzsqua, but I can always remaster Haluzqua down 3-4 db so they match if anyone is interested in having an equally mastered pair. My sub-50hz monitoring isn't super awesome...but it sounded ok on my 500w home theater subwoofer....hopefully the low-end came out ok.

Took a couple extra hours more than Haluzsqua, but feels worth the extra effort.

Anyway... .wav will be available to download. Probably won't be providing stems on this one...would be much effort given the way I arranged it in my sequencer. But maybe midi would be doable if requested.

- Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/theterranastrona ... orio-intro

[Rage]

Just listened to it, not bad, not bad at all.

[ssilk]

Nice. It's as good restructured as it can be heard. Midi would be good enough. For me it worked with Haluzsqua quite well.
With Haluzsqua I currently experiment to add again the MP3-artefacts, cause someone mentioned, that these artefacts adds white noise. An interesting experience.

I also think what makes the pieces so good matching to Factorio is the reverb they add. That is also what I miss from the new pieces. I put them through the same filter chain and they sound ... more interesting... I will try to publish some of my results this week.

Also moved the thread to "show your creations".
PS: I think about creating an own section for "sound/music", but currently much too less traffic for it, that it would be worth to split it up.

[Jonathan88]

I think about creating an own section for "sound/music", but currently much too less traffic for it, that it would be worth to split it up.

'Sounds' like a good idea There should definitely be more music creations/remakes like this!

[ruhroh]

Nice. It's as good restructured as it can be heard. Midi would be good enough. For me it worked with Haluzsqua quite well.
With Haluzsqua I currently experiment to add again the MP3-artefacts, cause someone mentioned, that these artefacts adds white noise. An interesting experience.

I also think what makes the pieces so good matching to Factorio is the reverb they add. That is also what I miss from the new pieces. I put them through the same filter chain and they sound ... more interesting... I will try to publish some of my results this week.

Also moved the thread to "show your creations".
PS: I think about creating an own section for "sound/music", but currently much too less traffic for it, that it would be worth to split it up.

I don't mind white noise if it's done in good taste...but if it's simply from poor audio quality it's hard to bear.

New pieces as in the "new" Factorio soundtrack? I would agree with that if so. The newer pieces seem a bit dry. And they sorta lack the same charm as the originals. They do sound professionally mixed at least...

And apologies, wasn't sure where to post these threads, as show your creations looked more for factorio bases, so general discussion looked more fitting. Now I know .

Interested to hear what you've come up with as well, lookin' forward to it.

[ssilk]

I think making a "Factorio Classic Soundtrack Mod" would be really cool. I want to actively support this idea. Not all of the old soundtracks where really good, so I can think also of remixes and/or mixes with the new soundtracks. The target should be to get a "harmonic soundtrack", which matches perfect to the mood and atmosphere.


PS: Don't mind moving the thread. It's some things I also get lost sometimes.

[ssilk]

Sorry for repost.

The following two pieces are original tracks from the game, that I processed through a big effect chain to add
- more reverb
- strangeness
- dirt
- feeling

To hear the effect I have turned the volumes of the effect chain to 200% of what I would normally put in:
https://soundcloud.com/ssilk-1/firstlig ... orestremix
https://soundcloud.com/ssilk-1/gatherin ... orestremix

[ruhroh]

First one sounds good. Second one you'll need to eq the mids down a little to compensate for all of that reverb because it's causing alot of bad resonance.

For me personally, I'd just need to hear the original vs. 100% effect chain. I'd hear the difference, I have pretty good studio monitors

I seem to be missing most of the original songs from the data/ audio file, now that i've updated to 0.12.8 so I have nothing to compare those tracks to unfortunately. I do like the ambience of them, and they do seem to fit into the same vibe as haluzsqua, sepro1, and the intro.

[Align]

The three main tunes (that weren't wind or vague ambience) from the old soundtrack are on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... Uefa-9_e93

[ssilk]

First one sounds good. Second one you'll need to eq the mids down a little to compensate for all of that reverb because it's causing alot of bad resonance.

Yeah, as said, I made the effect chain too loud.

For me personally, I'd just need to hear the original vs. 100% effect chain. I'd hear the difference, I have pretty good studio monitors

That is actually a pretty good idea, why didn't I have thought of it?

I seem to be missing most of the original songs from the data/ audio file, now that i've updated to 0.12.8 so I have nothing to compare those tracks to unfortunately. I do like the ambience of them, and they do seem to fit into the same vibe as haluzsqua, sepro1, and the intro.

Download Factorio 0.11, go to the data files sounds/ambient.

[ruhroh]

The three main tunes (that weren't wind or vague ambience) from the old soundtrack are on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... Uefa-9_e93

Yep, those are the one's I used as reference material for my remakes. Was the 2 that ssilk had posted that I wasn't sure where to find, but I found 'em!

Will give a compare/contrast listen now !

-Edit- Also, pretty surprising response on the intro! More motivation to finish out the Trio and get Sepro1 done . Finding that cricket-chirping backdrop shouldn't be too hard . Will go out in the backyard at night with a mic if i have to lol.

[ruhroh]

Bit of a double post (Maybe we should make a new thread for playing around with the pre-existing music) but I thought I'd comment now that I have all of the material to compare with. I actually feel the mixing and reverb on the new tracks are professionally done, but they simply lack that post-processing you'd find on finished tracks.

I see where you were going with the first-light remix, though I think the original didn't need any extra reverb persay. I do however, really like that extra resonance you (ssilk) added, whether it's an extra pad that was added or just a a product of your effect chain, it really adds to the track and I like it alot!

As to the original songs though, I think the sound itself lacks control, space, and warmth (and the low-mids seem to be consistently yucky) but I don't think a lack of reverb is causing it. Not too hard to fix though! There aren't many poorly mixed instruments. Though, due to the fact the original format is .ogg which has innate compression built into it, I won't be able to change this at the highest quality. (Should still be reasonably good though!)

Here's my take on the original First-light mix : https://soundcloud.com/theterranastrona ... t-mastered
And the Gathering mix : https://soundcloud.com/theterranastrona ... comparison (this one has a slight mixing problem with the arps, I can't get them to sit well with a proper sounding master, they would need to have their gain increased 2-3 db in the original mix to be balanced, otherwise you get yucky mid-low frequency resonance if they're prominent with a balanced master)

Notes : I did not simply make these louder, in fact, I did not change the gain at all, nor did I touch the already existing reverb. It will ofc be "louder" and you can see it in soundclouds waveform. The sound-space is simply being filled more effectively and it's clearer with the compression and EQ. I did push the lows to about the edge, but I like that sound of a pad on the brink of losing control. You can use the muted french-horn sound as the benchmark in first light, as it does not change in volume all that much throughout.

Extra note : I've automated my master bus chain to kick on and off for the sake of comparison and noted in the comments where it does so.

[ssilk]

Bit of a double post (Maybe we should make a new thread for playing around with the pre-existing music) but I thought I'd comment now that I have all of the material to compare with. I actually feel the mixing and reverb on the new tracks are professionally done, but they simply lack that post-processing you'd find on finished tracks.
I see where you were going with the first-light remix, though I think the original didn't need any extra reverb persay. I do however, really like that extra resonance you (ssilk) added, whether it's an extra pad that was added or just a a product of your effect chain, it really adds to the track and I like it alot!

I know what you mean: This effect is taken from audiomatic rack extension, and there the "Erie"-Filter. https://shop.propellerheads.se/product/audiomatic/
That filter can be described as "Big industrial complex with many pipes, using the pipes as sound-transport". When I heard it together with the targeted direction I thought "yeah".

As to the original songs though, I think the sound itself lacks control, space, and warmth (and the low-mids seem to be consistently yucky)

Exactly. But I think this will be fixed in the end-product. Otherwise I would not say this is a professional sound production.

but I don't think a lack of reverb is causing it. Not too hard to fix though! There aren't many poorly mixed instruments. Though, due to the fact the original format is .ogg which has innate compression built into it, I won't be able to change this at the highest quality. (Should still be reasonably good though!)

For me the reverb stands for the silence and size of this world. The clean music comes from the characters power suit, he wants to dispel those feeling, by playing the music loud. The reverb are the reflections from that.
Maybe this is not the best idea, but when I played around with it I felt, that even more reverb would eventually work, if it would be believable together with the surrounding.
Because it is quite simple: Much reverb means, that the character plays the music loud. Less reverb is, that he plays the music more silent. This can be used to make a layer, for fights or when he is in the center of his loud factory. It's like if you are standing in an empty field vs. standing in a big industrial hall.
Hm. I think I try that tomorrow.

this one has a slight mixing problem with the arps, I can't get them to sit well with a proper sounding master, they would need to have their gain increased 2-3 db in the original mix to be balanced, otherwise you get yucky mid-low frequency resonance if they're prominent with a balanced master)

[/quote]
I don't know what you used, but I used parallel compression mixing techniques and leveled the different effects (also some compressions) matching to the sound. Keyword is "New York Style". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_compression

[ruhroh]

I don't know what you used, but I used parallel compression mixing techniques and leveled the different effects (also some compressions) matching to the sound. Keyword is "New York Style". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_compression

I usually just use a normal, high quality multi-band compressor for normalizing and controlling the major frequency bands. I mainly use it for mastering, but sometimes on individual tracks/instruments.

I'll need to look into parallel compression, might be able to solve more mixing problems with it in my arsenal, thanks for that info!

However, I think the low-mid range frequencies in the forest remixes are still borderline yucky...(Maybe at 100% settings instead of 200% they'd be more ok?) And the plucks/arps I mentioned sit right in that yucky frequency band. I'm a picky perfectionist though, so don't mind me.

And lastly, with the whole reverb thing, I just meant that the composer had put enough in to provide enough space, but due to mixing / lack of processing it was washed out / not very apparent. So with the right processing the reverb stands out more, and thus extra isn't really all that *needed*. Can be added anyway for sure! I prefer a more spacey mix for games like this anyway.

-Edit- Also started work on Sepro1. Same deal as the other 2. That should complete the main original trio! I literally searched for hours to find a reasonable cricket backdrop...and there was only 1 close, but they wanted my money for it...

Said screw that and made my own using Sylenth1. Oscilate a sinewave, put a filter envelope on it with some short-mid length attack, then add some reverb...Presto, generic cricket chirping : http://www.mediafire.com/listen/nd5g3gy ... irping.wav

Then add some polishing and randomization and you get realistic chirping crickets! : http://www.mediafire.com/listen/d4npjwf ... ickets.wav